Claire Harris is the founder of Pets 2 Places - the UK’s first pet taxi franchise and talks about why she's on a mission to educate owners about pet travel safety.
Her business started back in 2014 when Claire had the idea to make a taxi service for pets, and with a £10 phone and a handful of leaflets.
She was supporting elderly people in her old role in another business, and was asked about helping get pets to the vets.
Claire gave the concept of ‘Pets to Vets’ a try, walked round vets with her leafets, and her business expanded, rebranded to Pets2Places in Milton Keynes and has grown into a national business helping people and their pets travel safely.
As well as transporting animals, Claire feels so passionately about making sure when they’re travelling, pets are safe, and created Pet Travel Safety Day to educate owners around doing their best for their pets when they’re in the car.
This happens every July 1st, the day wearing seatbelts became compulsory, and now Claire is working on creating her own crash tested travel equipment for pets and has become one of the UK’s leading campaigners for pet travel safety.
She talks about the lack of proper safety standards when she started out, and how she taught herself everything from scratch, plus how being visible has helped.
All the links to connect with Claire and learn more about her work and Pet Travel Safety mission are at the end of this post.
Key quotes in this episode:
“People don’t know what they don’t know. I used unsafe equipment at first because there was nowhere to learn from. That’s why I now share what I’ve learned.”
“I want people to look at their dog and ask: ‘Would I want to crash in a car like that?’ Because that’s what we’re putting them through.”
“I started with a £10 phone and a top-up card. Now I’ve created a franchise, designed a safety product and started a national campaign. It’s grown because I believe in it.”
“This business is about more than pets - it’s about people. Some of the clients we support haven’t left their house in months. We’re a lifeline.”
“I didn’t set out to be a campaigner, but I couldn’t ignore what I was seeing. Once you know better, you have to do better.”
“Being visible has helped me reach more people - but it’s also helped me stay accountable to my mission.”
Topics and timings in this episode
0.20 - Introduction to the episode.
2.28 - How Claire’s Pets2Places business happened by accident.
7.12 - What is was like starting out and how Claire went round her local vets with leaflets and her business grew.
11.22 - What travel equipment was like when Claire started out and what she’s learned.
14.36 - What set Claire off on her mission to learn about pet travel safety, and how she went about building her expertise in the area.
19.11 - What the law says about pet travel (and what’s missing).
21.16 - Claire’s education and awareness work and Pet Travel Safety Day on July 1st.
23.54 - What Claire’s taxis look like when it comes to equipment and keeping the animals she cares for safe.
25.43 - The impact of being in an accident with an animal and how dangerous unrestrained pets in the car can be.
27.30 - Some of the experiences Claire has heard of with animals being loose and the tragedies that can happen.
30.05 - Claire’s plans to create crash tested ISO standard travel equipment for animals and her work campaigning for the government to take Pet Travel Safety more seriously.
32.05 - Member story from Sarah Jones from My Anxious Dog.
33.07 - Claire’s frustration that animals are ignored when it comes to travelling safely when we’re a nation of pet lovers.
34.11 - Her recommendations for pet owners who want to make sure their dog is safe.
36.02 - The problem with the market at the moment and things to consider if you’re making a pet travel product to protect the pet and the people in the car.
38.34 - The product she’s developing and what makes it different as she’s working with vets, engineers and product designers.
41.14 - The range of products she’s planning to make, from robust and hardwearing for pet pros and cuter designs for younger pet owners.
44.21 - The growth of Claire’s pet transport business, and how it’s an ideal opportunity for people who love pets and want to support the human and animal relationship.
46.31 - The most effective communication channels for getting her Pet Travel Safety message out there and getting in the press.
48.54 - How Claire’s passion has helped her become an authority and expert in her field.
51.38 - Dealing with rejection and how this has made her more determined to keep moving forward.
54.34 - How self belief and grit and determination has helped Claire keep going.
55.31 - Where to find out more about Claire and her work.
Links mentioned:
Find out more about Claire on her website: https://pets2places.co.uk/
Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pets2PlacesMiltonKeynes/
Connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-harris-80780512a/
The Kurgo harness Claire recommends: https://kurgo.uk/products/enhanced-strength-tru-fit-dog-car-harness
Pet Travel Safety Day details: https://pets2places.co.uk/pet-travel-safety-day/
